You Are My Sunshine
by WhatBecomesOfYou
Summary: Fred/Wesley. Different Fred and Wesley drabbles/oneshots for the LiveJournal community ships50. Formerly "In Each Other Along."
1. Not Even Close

**Title**: Not Even Close  
**Characters**: Fred/Wesley  
**Prompt**: 33 - Prayers Answered  
**Word Count**: 165  
**Rating**: PG  
**Warnings/Spoilers**: Through Smile Time.  
**Summary**: The reality, he discovered, was much better than fantasy.  
**Notes**: Written for ships50 on LiveJournal. Takes place at the end of Smile Time, and includes a snippet of dialogue from the episode. I own nothing, it all belongs to Joss. All of the drabbles/oneshots I write for my ships50 claim will be added as chapters to this fic, for organization's sake.

_"That was a signal, okay? Is that clear enough for you?"_

_"Not even close."_

Wesley let out a small, almost imperceptible, sigh at the feel of Fred's lips on his, her arms draped around his back, the scent of her hair teasing his nostrils. He had dreamed of this day for years, and the reality, he discovered, was much better than any fantasy he could have ever had. Silently, he thanked whoever it was out there that had sent Fred into his life.

"Fred?" He asked, tentatively breaking off the kiss. Looking down at her face, he saw pure love expressed back. He smiled, realizing that the love in her face was for him and him alone. "We really _should_ get some rest."

She nodded, and slid one hand into his. "I'm coming with you," she said, smiling and reaching up to give him a small peck on one cheek. Hand-in-hand, they walked out of his office, lost in blissful thoughts of each other.


	2. The Knight, In Her Shining Armor

**Title**: The Knight, In Her Shining Armor  
**Characters**: Fred/Wesley  
**Prompt**: 10 - Betrayal  
**Word Count**: 954  
**Rating**: PG  
**Warnings/Spoilers**: Spoilers through Forgiving.  
**Summary**: Fred is worried about Wesley's whereabouts. Wesley is worried about Fred's reaction.  
**Notes**: Written for ships50 on LiveJournal. Set during Forgiving in season three, though I tweaked with the episode a little bit. I own nothing; it all belongs to Joss Whedon.

* * *

Fred frantically pressed the well-worn number into her cell phone's keypad, praying against all logical prayer that she'd hear his voice on the other end. Maybe he'd tell her it was all a big misunderstanding, that it wasn't as they had been told and that Connor was safe and warm somewhere. Or, if it wasn't a misunderstanding, he could offer some highly-needed clarification as to motive, because as it looked right now, he had decided, for no particular reason, to betray everyone on the team with his actions. "Please pick up, please pick up," she whispered under her breath, muttering a soft, barely-audible, expletive when it clicked over to voicemail _again_.

Nothing good came from two vampires having a child, she thought with a sad twist of her face. It wasn't _right_. Not that very much was 'right' anymore, considering everything she had been through since moving to Los Angeles…being sucked through a portal into Pylea, being rescued from Pylea by a vampire…it was thanks to _Wesley_, and, well, she mused, a nice reunion with a local taco restaurant, that she had come out of her shell and was becoming more like the old Fred, the one from the days before Pylea. "Gunn," she called out. "Take me to Wesley's apartment."

* * *

Thoughts coursed through Wesley's mind as he lay on the cold ground, bleeding out of his throat. He _thought_ he had been doing the right thing. Every translation, every prophecy, all came back to one little thing. _Angel was going to kill Connor_. He couldn't tell Angel, of course he couldn't. Angel would deny it, deny the possibility it would ever happen. But that's the thing about prophecy, he mused: it will happen as it is written, and he wouldn't be a respectable person if he didn't try to find that one tiny little loophole to save a baby's life. He began to think of how the team would react when they found out what he had done. Suddenly he was very glad that Cordelia was in Mexico and wouldn't be home for a while, delaying the inevitable. Angel would be outraged and probably threaten to kill him, of course, and Lorne knew something of what was going on, so while he wouldn't be _happy_ with the whole turn of events... Gunn would search for the motive, and Fred…Fred's reaction would brutalize him. It wasn't particularly a secret, at least, not a secret from Cordelia, that he was in love with her, and he couldn't _stand_ the thought of seeing her unhappy, especially with his actions. He attempted to sigh, but his trachea hurt too much to even put forth a valiant effort. It would be a long time.

* * *

Fred and Gunn, together, wandered around the park near Wesley's apartment, after he hadn't answered the door at his apartment and Fred had mentioned something about "sensing his presence" nearby. "Fred," Gunn said, softly, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I don't think he's here."

She huffed and sat down, looking up at Gunn with large, sad eyes. "If it was any one of us, Wes would be out there searching us down, not stopping until he knew what happened. You can stay, or you can leave, but I'm staying right here."

"I was just sayi…" Gunn said, before being cut off by a sharp glare from Fred. "_Okay_, we can continue looking, but if he's not here, I think we're just wasting our time."

* * *

He heard voices. Nice, friendly, familiar voices. Ones that wanted to help him. Gunn, he realized, and Fred. He attempted to make a noise, call out for help, usher them over to where he had been dragged, but no noise came forth. He was weak. _So _weak. He needed help. He could see the knight, in her shining armor, coming for him, saving him from himself, from the fate that he had been thrust into. If only she could see him. He tried to move his fingers so that she would see the motion somehow, but only came up with the energy to blink his eyes. And he waited, and continued to wait.

He saw her approach him, and he inwardly winced, not wanting her to see him as he knew he was.

* * *

She saw him, and inwardly, a mixture of relief and worry flooded over her like waves at the beach as she ran toward him, calling to Gunn to call for an ambulance. Relief; he was alive, he was breathing, and hopefully after he received some medical attention, he'd be okay in the end. Worry; he had that nasty slash across his throat, he didn't look too good. Picking up his hand from the grass and clasping it tightly against her chest, she whispered, "You're safe." Tracing her hand delicately along his injuries, she felt him pull back, and she frowned slightly. "We were worried."

Wesley wasn't convinced as he forced himself to look up at her, love reflected in his eyes. He wanted to believe her softly spoken words, he wanted to assure her that he would be fine, but how could he assure her of what he wasn't even sure?

As the paramedics loaded him onto the stretcher to take him to the hospital, Fred regretfully let go of his hand. "We'll visit you," she softly promised, smoothing the hair on his forehead back. "Gunn and I, and we'll tell Angel we found you."

He inwardly grimaced at the thought of encountering Angel, but pushed all thoughts of the conversation that would surely come out of his head as the ambulance sped off toward the hospital. There would be time enough later, once he was healed, to worry about such things...


	3. The Girl from the Vision

**Title**: The Girl From the Vision  
**Characters**: Fred/Wesley  
**Prompt**: 31 – First Meeting  
**Word Count**: 100  
**Rating**: PG  
**Warnings/Spoilers**: Spoilers through There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb  
**Summary**: She's not what he expected.  
**Notes**: Written for ships50 on LiveJournal. Set during There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb in season two. I own nothing; it all belongs to Joss Whedon.

* * *

She's not what he expected, not at all, though he isn't quite sure what he was expecting to find. The rambling is charming, in a way, although it's a different sort of rambling from any he had been exposed to in the past. Instead of the inane chatter of teenage girls – he shuddered at the memory of his time in Sunnydale - it was _intelligent_ in a way that delighted him. And she was beautiful. Dirty, of course, but that was to be expected. She was the girl from the vision, and he, for one, was glad they were there.


	4. Taco Rendezvous

**Title**: Taco Rendezvous  
**Characters**: Fred/Wesley  
**Prompt**: 6 – Forgotten  
**Word Count**: 118  
**Rating**: PG  
**Warnings/Spoilers**: None.  
**Summary**: Fred likes tacos and wants to get out of the Hyperion.  
**Notes**: Written for ships50 on LiveJournal. Set in early season three.

* * *

The first thing she does when she feels confident enough to go out of her room on a more regular basis is grab Wesley's hand and drag him to the nearest taco restaurant, where she orders a platter for herself - Wesley politely declines any. He laughs and watches her eat - it's nice to see her away from the Hyperion every now and then, anyway. Her cheeks flush pink at his laughter. It's nice to have friendly company every now and then, the kind that don't want to enslave you or hurt you.

Their illicit taco rendezvous are soon forgotten as other things take precedence - or so Fred thinks, as Wesley remembers them all too well...


	5. Missing Out

**Title**: Missing Out  
**Characters**: Fred/Wesley  
**Prompt**: 17 - Regret  
**Word Count**: 195  
**Rating**: PG  
**Warnings/Spoilers**: Through A Hole in the World.  
**Summary**: She never felt like she missed out on anything.  
**Notes**: Written for whedonland on LiveJournal, expanded a bit from the original I wrote back in May.

* * *

Fred never felt as though she had missed out on anything, being the intellectual that she was. It wasn't as though she had moved out to California to get a tan or find the latest designer clothes, or to break into the entertainment industry - she came out to study. Her skin was as pale as ever, but she had never felt smarter in her life.

Sure, she got sucked into a portal to another dimension by Professor Seidel. That put all of her plans on hold, at least until Angel and the others saved her. And, sure, it took a very long time for her to realize that Wesley - not anyone else - was the one she loved. She didn't expect her California adventure to include demons and spells and vampires and romance and _lawyers_, but she knew things now that she didn't when she left home.

And as she lay dying, scared and oh-so-far from home, Wesley's arms wrapped around her waist, she didn't feel as though she had missed out at all. Her only regret was that she had to leave so soon.

"_Why can't I stay_?"


	6. Til Death or Demon

**Title**: Til Death or Demon  
**Characters**: Fred/Wesley  
**Prompt**: 37 - Everlasting  
**Word Count**: 488  
**Rating**: PG  
**Warnings/Spoilers**: Very, very AU. Sadly.  
**Summary**: She's a vision in white silk and lace, a symbol of their love for each other and their bond on this day.  
**Notes**: Written for ships50 on LiveJournal. Inspired by a prompt from an old ficathon, where I just found my old document writing down prompts I liked: "Angel, Wesley/Fred, Getting married." I own nothing, it all belongs to Joss.

* * *

She's a vision in white silk and lace. Wesley's reminded of the time they went to the ballet - that dress, the ballet dress, the red dress that served as a focal point to so many of his dreams for so long - except she looks, if possible, even more beautiful now than she did then. Maybe because, while the first dress was for the world to see, this one is worn for him. Not literally. It'd be more accurate to say that she's wearing it _because_ of him. She's wearing it as a symbol of their love for each other and of the sanctity of the bond that they are instituting on this day.

For so long, he felt like he would never get to this point. That no one would be able to look past his battle-scarred self and see through to the part of him that desired love and affection just as anyone else, and elect to spend the rest of their lives together. To him, it was even more miraculous that he had reached this point with the woman he had loved - and had reciprocated his love, he's reminded - ever since around the time they'd met.

It's a small affair: just the remainder of the Angel Investigations gang and her parents, along with the befuddled priest from the neighborhood parish, who constantly crosses himself every time he catches a glance of Lorne out of the corner of his eye. He'd proclaim his love loud and strong every time, loud enough for the whole world to hear: he's madly in love with Winifred Burkle, and he could not be happier about it.

The priest pushes his glasses up on his nose and clears his throat loudly, and everyone in the audience snaps to attention. The words are lovely and traditional, but cold and impersonal for the breadth and depth of emotion he feels; they're not in a church, after all, by Angel's request and their acquiescence, they're in the lobby of the Hyperion.

"I, Winifred Burkle," she says, reciting the vows aloud that she knows by heart, feeling the intensity of the emotions circulating within them as she looks Wesley in the eye. He could not help but be entranced as she speaks, and he wants to clasp her to him - "in good times and in bad" - they knew the vows and would be faithful to them, but formality is an issue - "until death, or demon," she continues, throwing a sly wink to Wesley as she modified the wording, "do us part."

And people wondered why he loved her so.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the priest says, and Wesley takes the opportunity to bow his head in solemn virtue to kiss his wife - _wife_! - on the lips, tender and chaste - after all, they _did_ have an audience. Their first kiss as a married couple. The first of many to come. And he couldn't wait.


End file.
